RealJobs: Nancy Gonsalves

Ugh! This has been one of those work days where I didn’t even get to the first thing on my “to-do” list. (Okay, writing the blog is on the list so I guess I can check off one item.) I feel like all I did today was talk about all the things I need to do versus actually doing them. Some people are great at big picture thinking with over the top ideas, whereas I immediately gravitate to the details and start figuring out if they are possible or not. It has actually created a bit of a strained environment in our division – the thinkers and the doer’s! In fact once of the first things I had to address this morning was an on-line questionnaire on conflict resolution. Everyone in our division (11 people) is supposed to fill it out and then we are going to have a facilitator analyze the results and then have a five hour meeting in a few weeks to discuss ways to communicate better. I am sure there will be some benefit but right now all I can think of is all those tasks with deadlines that aren’t getting done and I can feel my stress level building.

The next thing to hit my inbox was the new and improved 2011 goal setting forms. This is another yearly exercise that makes my head explode. Senior leadership and our Board first set organizational goals, then each functional area (sport department) sets goals to support the organization and then each division (International Games) sets their own goals and the last step is at the individual level. Everything we do is supposed to flow upwards. We spent almost two hours with HR discussing how to write goals, the difference between a goal and an activity and measurable metrics. Again, more time spent talking about all the work than actually doing any of it. As much as I wanted to ignore the process, I am very deadline driven and spent another two hours writing my yearly goals. I did feel some relief when I hit the send button though! We also learned from HR that goals are not related to our yearly performance reviews or even our job descriptions! I am sure all of it is important, it is just not my strength or preference. As you can imagine, there was much talk over the cubicle walls on what it all meant.

I am sure an hour at lunch-time boot camp (run at a nearby gym by a former Olympic weightlifter) would have improved my mood immensely today but unfortunately I worked through lunch on some equally frustrating issues at my daughters school related to some learning challenges that may be starting to show. As much as I love my job most days, I am starting to wonder if the time has come where being a full-time Mom is where I am needed most.

Sorry it was a downer of a day today. I hope to be able to talk more on sport and air travel logistics tomorrow – it is still sitting there at the top of my to-do list! On the bright side, I am now headed home where my husband has dinner waiting!

One response to “RealJobs: Nancy Gonsalves”

Hi Nancy! I am a sophomore at BC this year and actually came across the US Olympic Committee Internship earlier this week and it is my absolute dream internship (and have definitely enjoyed reading your blog)! Ironically, I was interviewing for a local internship earlier this week, and my interviewer said to me “so you’re ultimate goal is to do something with the Olympics” and it struck me that since that is my ultimate goal, why was I not applying for an internship there!? I am in international studies major and my focus of study is how athletics in an international setting promotes social, economic and political relationships between nations. I would love to talk to you further if you are interested because I would want nothing more than to have an internship with the USOC this summer! Thanks!